JAKARTA -** **Myanmar’s migrant workers are facing a higher risk of abuse as safe ways to leave the country disappear, warned the International Labour Organization (ILO) specialist Benjamin Harkins at a Yangon event on December 14.

For many families, sending someone abroad is the only way to survive now that local jobs have collapsed. But Harkins noted that as legal channels shut down, workers are being pushed toward dangerous, informal routes. That leaves them wide open to exploitation, especially in notorious sectors like fishing and seafood processing.

“Migrant workers make a vital contribution to their families and communities,” said Yutong Liu, the ILO’s representative in Myanmar. She stressed that protecting their rights has to happen at every step of the journey, not just at the destination.

The push to leave is driven by desperation. The UN estimates conflict and disasters have displaced 3.6 million people inside Myanmar. Most have lost access to steady work, and nearly 20 million people are now in need of basic aid like food and shelter. 

Harkins said the problem is not migration itself, but how people are forced to move. When workers rely on unregulated brokers, they often leave without contracts or a clear idea of the job. Once they face abuse abroad, it’s much harder to fight back.

Thailand is among the most common corridors for Myanmar migrant workers. 

IOM estimates there are roughly 4.1 million Myanmar nationals currently in Thailand. By the start of 2025, a record 2.27 million were officially registered as workers—making up nearly 70% of the country's total migrant workforce—but the IOM believes another 1.7 million are likely living there without legal status.